BLANCHARDVILLE - Pecatonica senior Tannar Johnson made sure with his pitching that he and fellow seniors wouldn't be late for graduation Friday night.
Johnson pitched a two-hit shutout in leading Pecatonica past Argyle 12-0 in a five-inning WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal at McKellar Park.
Johnson said it was business as usual.
"Baseball was the No. 1 agenda for me," said Johnson, who also went 2 for 3 with three RBIs at the plate. "We all came ready to play. We didn't want to go to graduation with a sour taste in our mouth."
Pecatonica (14-10) advances to play Southwestern (14-6) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday in Hazel Green. Southwestern, which is the No. 2 seed, lost its first four games and then had a 12 game winning streak before losing two of their last four to Boscobel and Darlington.
"It's just another team and uniform," Johnson said of the Wildcats, who were state qualifiers last year. "We have to come ready to play."
Argyle (4-17) was plagued by several errors and some untimely bounces. The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning off Argyle senior pitcher Nate Thomas. Senior Taylor Berg walked and Johnson came through when he lined an RBI single to left. Pecatonica did most of its damage with two outs. The Vikings scored three of their four runs in the first after they had two outs. Pecatonica junior Karson Feller ripped a two-out RBI double to left to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead. Michael Becker then delivered an RBI single and Tyler Francois smoked an RBI double to center to make it 4-0.
Pecatonica junior J.J. Hogan went 3 for 3 with two RBIs to lead a 12-hit attack. Francois was 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
"We only had one error in the first but we misplayed a couple of balls," Argyle coach Travis Erickson said. "It just kind of snowballed from there. They hit Nate pretty hard. We didn't make plays behind him. "You can't win a game, let alone a regional game, when we don't make plays behind him. I don't think we came ready to play at all."
Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen said the key was getting out to a fast start on defense and offense.
"That was huge," Strommen said. "Nate Thomas has always been tough on us. In high school baseball if you put the ball in play it makes the other team have to make plays. We have been working on our hitting approach a little bit the last couple of weeks. We have done a better job of putting the ball in play. We hit a couple fly balls they couldn't make plays on. It was our night tonight."
Johnson pitched a complete game and struck out eight. He sailed through the first two innings retiring six straight hitters. The only hits for the Orioles came on Matt Rosebrook's single off the third base bag in the third and Cole Jordan's infield single in the fourth.
"I just wanted to get ahead in the count and throw strikes," Johnson said. "I probably only threw 12 off-speed pitches all game. I went right at guys."
The Vikings broke the game open batting around the order in an eight-run fourth. Jake Scoville lined a single to right and then Hogan then doubled down the first base line. Berg walked to load the bases and then Tanner Kleppe then came through with an RBI single. Johnson ripped a two-run single to left to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead and then Ross Gilbertson and Francois had a RBI singles. Hogan capped the scoring with a two-run single to right.
Johnson said the team has been taking a new approach in batting practice.
"I know it's starting to pay off for some of the guys," he said. "They are waiting and hitting their pitch."
Johnson pitched a two-hit shutout in leading Pecatonica past Argyle 12-0 in a five-inning WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal at McKellar Park.
Johnson said it was business as usual.
"Baseball was the No. 1 agenda for me," said Johnson, who also went 2 for 3 with three RBIs at the plate. "We all came ready to play. We didn't want to go to graduation with a sour taste in our mouth."
Pecatonica (14-10) advances to play Southwestern (14-6) in a regional semifinal on Tuesday in Hazel Green. Southwestern, which is the No. 2 seed, lost its first four games and then had a 12 game winning streak before losing two of their last four to Boscobel and Darlington.
"It's just another team and uniform," Johnson said of the Wildcats, who were state qualifiers last year. "We have to come ready to play."
Argyle (4-17) was plagued by several errors and some untimely bounces. The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning off Argyle senior pitcher Nate Thomas. Senior Taylor Berg walked and Johnson came through when he lined an RBI single to left. Pecatonica did most of its damage with two outs. The Vikings scored three of their four runs in the first after they had two outs. Pecatonica junior Karson Feller ripped a two-out RBI double to left to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead. Michael Becker then delivered an RBI single and Tyler Francois smoked an RBI double to center to make it 4-0.
Pecatonica junior J.J. Hogan went 3 for 3 with two RBIs to lead a 12-hit attack. Francois was 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
"We only had one error in the first but we misplayed a couple of balls," Argyle coach Travis Erickson said. "It just kind of snowballed from there. They hit Nate pretty hard. We didn't make plays behind him. "You can't win a game, let alone a regional game, when we don't make plays behind him. I don't think we came ready to play at all."
Pecatonica coach Jim Strommen said the key was getting out to a fast start on defense and offense.
"That was huge," Strommen said. "Nate Thomas has always been tough on us. In high school baseball if you put the ball in play it makes the other team have to make plays. We have been working on our hitting approach a little bit the last couple of weeks. We have done a better job of putting the ball in play. We hit a couple fly balls they couldn't make plays on. It was our night tonight."
Johnson pitched a complete game and struck out eight. He sailed through the first two innings retiring six straight hitters. The only hits for the Orioles came on Matt Rosebrook's single off the third base bag in the third and Cole Jordan's infield single in the fourth.
"I just wanted to get ahead in the count and throw strikes," Johnson said. "I probably only threw 12 off-speed pitches all game. I went right at guys."
The Vikings broke the game open batting around the order in an eight-run fourth. Jake Scoville lined a single to right and then Hogan then doubled down the first base line. Berg walked to load the bases and then Tanner Kleppe then came through with an RBI single. Johnson ripped a two-run single to left to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead and then Ross Gilbertson and Francois had a RBI singles. Hogan capped the scoring with a two-run single to right.
Johnson said the team has been taking a new approach in batting practice.
"I know it's starting to pay off for some of the guys," he said. "They are waiting and hitting their pitch."
